The Mohawk Valley Community College Cultural Series will host a lecture by lacrosse champion Neal Powless, “Let’s Make a Sports Movie: ‘Crooked Arrows’ and its Cultural Impact,” at 7 p.m. March 7, in Schafer Theater, Information Technology Building, at the College’s Utica Campus. Admission is free.
Powless will share his personal journey from a traditional Native upbringing on the Onondaga Nation to the world of Hollywood and Native American representation in the 2012 major motion picture that featured lacrosse as a major component of the story.
Powless, a traditional member of the Onondaga Nation and Eel Clan, is a co-producer of “Crooked Arrows,” the 2012 drama about a Native American lacrosse team making its way through a prep school league tournament. He is a three-time All-American in lacrosse, a member of the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team that played in six World Lacrosse Championships, and a producer of films focused on lacrosse and the Onondaga Nation’s involvement in the sport. He is also the head coach of the Netherlands National Lacrosse Team, making him the first Native American to coach an international lacrosse team based outside of the U.S. He coached the Netherlands team in the 2014 World Lacrosse Championships in Denver, Colorado, and the 2016 European Lacrosse Championships in Hungary. He is the owner of the Syracuse Stingers lacrosse franchise that hosts lacrosse training camps and exhibition games. He serves on the Board of Directors for the non-profit There and Back, which provides motivational speeches about drug and alcohol awareness for high school and college sports teams.
Tickets for all Cultural Series events can be purchased in person at the MVCC Box Office, Information Technology Building room 106, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday–Friday, and at the College Stores on the Utica and Rome Campuses; online any time at www.mvcc.edu/tickets<http://www.mvcc.edu/tickets>; or over the phone by calling 315-731-5721. Most Cultural Series events are $5 or less to the general public and many are free. Events include concerts, comedians, lectures, film screenings and discussions, workshops, family fun events, and more.
The Cultural Series is brought to you by MVCC’s Cultural Events Council, in collaboration with MVCC’s Program Board, with significant support from the Student Activity Fee. For the complete series lineup and ticket sales, visit www.mvcc.edu/culture<http://www.mvcc.edu/culture>.
